What It Was
by spongecake 2
Summary: She needed a rematch. She left home to find that rematch. However, when that rematch finds her first, Lili finds that you don't just have to be careful of what you wish for, but also of what you get. A  probably  short improvised fic about Lili and Asuka
1. White Osaka

**What It Was**

**A Tekken Fanfiction by spongecake2**

**Disclaimer - Let's face it, who needs conventional and romantic relationships with real people when you have an oven glove with a smiley face drawn onto it? They're always happy to see you, they never neglect, refuse or criticise you, they're always there for you, they always agree with you... what's not to love?**

**So while I've got that new Knife Shine thingy out, I'm also doing this. Why? Mostly practise, really. What is it? What's the plot? What's the style? Who knows? Who cares?**

**That's right, it's me improv-ing things, like my short, ill-fated 'Tramp'. Whoop-di-doo-di-dools.**

**I feel that with Exodus of the Mind and Soul and also with Knife Shine and my various other projects like that Metroid adaptation (stop laughing) or my sci-fi crime detective psychological thriller comedy muscial (again, stop laughing), I've lost touch with short stuff, so this is my attempt to make something with shorter chapters released more than once a year.**

**I'm messing about, essentially. Practising fight scenes and descriptions and what not. Ratings and genres may change. May not. Anyway, I'm rambling now, so relax and enjoy!**

**Let's see how many yuri fans are disappointed that this is a Lili and Asuka fic that ISN'T a romance (again no guarantees; you never know, I'm young, straight, dumb and desperate)**

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**Chapter 1 - White Osaka**

"… just… I mean… argh, that bitch!"

"Miss Rochefort!" Sebastian's gaze snapped to the young blonde in the back of the car. "Your father did not teach you such vocabulary! The fighting was, and is, bad enough, madam, so I would suggest that you refrain from using such words."

"But for lack of a better word, Sebastian." Came the seething reply.

Osaka didn't seem real in the white light that basked it. The pavements became white, endless winding snakes that coiled easily across a sea of comfortable buildings that too looked dreamlike. It was only on the outskirts of the city and yet it seemed so much less than the overwhelming behemoth of the city centre. Near enough no noise, with a constant presence of trees and animals and plant life; very different from the land of stone and glass and iron that was Osaka's _Midosuji_ districts.

It was a place of Sebastian's choosing. A respectable district in town, with a school not far from where he had arranged for Lili to live for the duration of the tournament. No surprises, little noise, and he guessed that the people were the respectable cream of Osaka's crop. It was difficult for Lili to convince him to lie to her father, and tell him that she was volunteered for a exchange programme. He thought he might as well make good sure that it wasn't a lie that would fall apart. He explained the situation to both Lili's actual school and this new one in Osaka. A bit of bribing was necessary, but money was no object for the Rocheforts, even with the closing of the oil fields. Yes, Sebastian mused. He liked this place.

"Is something bothering you, madam?" Came his slow, calm voice, directed at Lili again. His brow rutted as he controlled the limo through the streets. A nice district, yes, but navigating in such a large vehicle was near enough impossible.

"Yes!" Lili nearly barked, lost in her thoughts and suddenly being pulled out. "It's that Kazama! She's just… so… argh!"

"Just so what, Miss Rochefort?" Sebastian asked. He had heard many times, and he was amazed that Lili was still going on about this, but it was his job to listen. Lili's teeth ground.

"…" She looked out of the window, observing the unreal dream from behind glass window. "It doesn't matter." She finally said. "I'll find her, sooner or later."

Sebastian sighed. Lili didn't take losing to Asuka particularly well, and he could not decide or say whether the frustration she felt was unwarranted or not. It was a rare day when Lili lost, though lost she did and she was more than happy to admit it. So why was it this loss that boiled her blood so?

Was it how close Lili was to winning? Lili's progress was far beyond even Lili's confident, even arrogant expectations, and had she not lost when she had, she would've broken a record for newcomers to the King of Iron Fist. It was a disappointment, yes.

Was it the extent to which she was beaten? More than likely. Even when Lili had been beaten, she had managed to give a good account to her opponents, and often had a rematch in which she crushed her opponents, but this 'Asuka Kazama' Lili had told him about? She apparently beat Lili in under a minute, and without so much a scratch. And of course, when Lili was grounded, there was certainly to be no rematch. An unanimous defeat.

Was it Asuka herself? Not as likely. Lili had contacted Sebastian during the tournament, and she had never mentioned her in a negative light. Not much of a light, to be fair, an occasional mention of maybe a polite pre-battle exchange, or a minor appraisal for a well deserved victory against somebody Lili didn't like, but no more. No, Sebastian was sure that there was something else to it, but what? What could've possibly…

"SEBASTIAN!"

Sebastian's foot immediately shot onto the brake. The limousine pulled back desperately, forcing Lili and Sebastian forward with dizzying strength. He had been lost in his thoughts, and he had neither noticed the school or the cyclist. He looked up immediately. He didn't hear a bump, so he didn't hit anything, but he still wanted to see that the girl was alright. He reached for his belt buckle.

"No, Sebastian, I'll go; you park the car." Lili said. Sebastian, for the first time, turned his head to face her. Her face looked concerned, yes, but her eyes gave it away. She knew the cyclist. The emotion was shock, but it had a hint of something else, something more twisted.

"… madam?" He began, but she was already out of the car, the expression plastered onto her face as she looked blankly to the girl on the floor. He sighed nervously, but drove away.

The world was a little blurred. She certainly hadn't expected the limousine to roar out of nowhere. Either the driver's eyes weren't on the road or they had lost their mind. The pain wasn't great, though. She hadn't managed to keep the bike upright, but she had at least slowed it slightly and made the fall a bit more gradual than it could've been. She scanned her legs, the main source of pain. Nothing massive, a small bruise here or there but nothing to worry about. She turned to see where her bag had landed so she could…

"It's you."

Asuka's head slowly turned. Her eyes darted across the girl's face and body like a machine. She was sure that she recognised her. Tall, ridiculously long hair and Asuka supposed that she was pretty, at least from an objective point of view. It did click, but she wasn't sure where from. The blonde wore the same school uniform as Asuka, a yellowish sweater over a white shirt and blue skirt, but Asuka knew that she wasn't from the school.

However, the look on her face was what really drew Asuka's attention, because it was so bizarre. It was astounded, clearly, but it seemed that she couldn't decide whether to be horrified or overjoyed. Asuka immediately became suspicious.

"I'm not particularly good with faces, I'm afraid." She explained. "Do I know you?" Suddenly, the blonde girl's mouth began to twitch, before curling, and then becoming a truly nasty grin.

"Asuka Kazama; you, my friend…" Came a slow drawl as she suddenly punched her own open palm. The speed astounded Asuka, then the knuckles cracked. "- have chosen a _brilliant_ place to fight!"

Lili brought the fist to the floor, but Asuka had already rolled out of the way. The paving slab shattered dramatically, shards flying upward. Lili's arm rattled with pain, and she wasn't ready for a heel cracking into her temple. She slammed onto her back, but determinedly strove to stay conscious. She glared at Asuka, who began to stand up.

"What the fuck's your problem?" She asked, and Lili scowled.

"Don't you dare say you don't remember me, you…" She remembered back to Sebastian's words on profanity, but couldn't think of anything else. "… ARGH!" She threw herself at the brunette, blindingly fast, and smashed Asuka back. Asuka barely retained her footing, and she only just dodged the spinning low kick. She stumbled back, and again when faced with an approaching knee. She then flipped into a handstand and then back onto her feet. Lili scowled. "Coward! Quit running and…"

KA-POW!

The bright world, the blue sky and the white pavement, shuddered together, becoming just a blur. Lili could feel blood running down from her jaw, and tears were in her eyes. That kick! It was like a lightning bolt, and it came seemingly out of nowhere. She couldn't see, and she certainly didn't see Asuka until it was too late. A knee to the stomach made her keel over, and then came an elbow to her back. She dropped to her hands and knees, and she watched as circles of scarlet splashed onto the pavement.

"Not so talkative now, eh?" Came a voice that sounded distant yet close. Lili began to look up, and saw Asuka standing before her, looking down, once again not a scratch on her.

_Just like last time._

"C'mon." Asuka extended a hand. "Let's get you up and see the damage." Lili shook slightly, before looking up to Asuka, eye to eye.

"… you bitch…" Asuka frowned.

"Not a good idea, insulting the person who just handed your ass right back to you." She said, before simply forcing Lili to her feet by the forearm. Lili huffed, but fell back into a fighting stance. She expected Asuka to get back to fighting. Instead, she just sighed.

"As much as I love a good fight, now's neither time or place, and I don't pick fights."

"Oh no. You aren't running." Lili spat. "We're ending this right now!"

"Yes, we are." Asuka said, turning on her heel. "See ya round." She began to walk away, but heard some following footsteps. She looked behind her, and had to stop and stare in awe. Lili was actually ripping up her shirt sleeves and tying bands around her palms like gloves. "You just don't know when to quit, do you!" Lili ignored the comment, instead snapping into a fighting stance. "I mean, look at your face! Your nose might be broken and you still want to…"

"SHUT IT!" Came a roar unlike anything the Monegasque had ever conjured. It sounded so irregular coming from her sophisticated tongue, but right now she didn't care, choosing instead to charge forward in a flying rage. Asuka immediately pushed her hand forward, hoping to hit Lili when she wasn't paying attention. However, Lili saw this and suddenly pushed hard onto the open palmed strike. Asuka saw her wince, and then suddenly pain shot up her arm. Lili wasn't stopped by the attack. She kept going, and suddenly grabbed Asuka by the offending arm, one hand at the elbow, one at the wrist, and pushed even closer to Asuka, until their noses were almost touching. Asuka wailed in pain, feeling her fingers bending far too much against Lili's stomach, almost bending backwards.

"Get off!" She swung her whole body around, trying to throw Lili off balance enough to free her arm. Lili spun too; she spun in midair, pushing Asuka off her feet and onto the floor, with her arm firmly in Lili's grasp and her spine being crushed by Lili's white boot. She smiled slightly, sadistically. The blood still ran from her nose, but she didn't care. She had Asuka under her boot, and now she was going to win _outright._

"Remember this, Asuka?" She seethed, shaking as her foot began to twist. Asuka moaned. "Do you remember this attack? Do you remember _me_?" Then Asuka's head wheeled, and her eyes began to squint.

"… that chick from the tournament…" She murmured. Lili's smile suddenly disappeared.

"… what?"

"Yeah…" Asuka moaned. "Lil' something, wasn't it?" Lili's face turned to shock.

"… you don't even…" The shock became a scowl. "… _you don't even remember my name?"_ The scowl became a growl. "_You beat me to a pulp, and you don't even know who I __**am?**_" The growl became a howl through gritted teeth. "_**You'll learn! You'll remember! I'll teach you to remember, or my name isn't…"**_

"Miss Rochefort!"

Lili's eyes closed. A controlled sigh escaped her as her head turned very slowly to face Sebastian, whose face of horror was a complete opposite to her anger.

"Sebastian, I'm busy." She gave this as a command rather than an explanation, but Sebastian didn't move.

"I can see." He said. "However, I feel that, while I am your butler, your father's wishes must come before yours. You told me you'd enter the tournament to get at Jin Kazama. A justifiable reason to force me to lie to him. I was not told that it was simply just to chase some petty grudge match." Lili kept her eyes fixed on Asuka, whose own eyes simply darted simply, as if she were somewhere else.

"Sebastian, please…" Lili said, breaking her stare on Asuka. "- this is different. This is…"

"Excuse me, but I'm late." Came a small gesture. "I've had enough!"

"What?" Lili began to turn back to Asuka, but it was far too late.

Even looking back, Lili didn't quite realise what had happened. One second ago, Asuka was at her mercy, under her boot and in pain, and now? She had somehow rolled up Lili's arm, throwing Lili's boot to the side and causing her to lose balance. She only realised that Asuka was on her feet again when she was suddenly snapped forward into her arms, before being rolled over in midair. Then Asuka elbowed the airborne Monegasque to the ground, face first, and finally kicked her sharply in the stomach, flipping her back onto the lower of her spine and sending a shudder of pain up and through her. Lili gasped for air. She couldn't even scream. It seemed that every hit Asuka threw out, occasional and slow they were, were like shotgun shells, completely stopping Lili in her tracks. Asuka stood up fully now, taking a moment to back away and catch her breath. She looked tired but, much to Lili's chagrin, unhurt. She may as well having been jogging for all the effort she had exerted, and here Lili was, on the floor, bleeding at the nose and dizzied.

"As I said…" Asuka huffed. "– I don't pick fights. I end them." With that, for a second time that day, for the third time ever, she turned around, leaving Lili to the mercy of the white Osaka sun.

**Chapter 1 – White Osaka**


	2. Challenges

**Disclaimer - Punch that shit!**

**Author's Note - Another quick one, really quick author's note and GO GO GADGET CHAPTER!**

"So, what are you in for?"

Lili scowled angrily. Sebastian may not have been pleased about the fighting, but she felt it unnecessary to tell the teachers that she had attacked Asuka. She felt that she could be doing a lot more productive things than be punished for something that happened both outside school grounds, and before school actually started, but Sebastian wouldn't back down. Now, here she sat, outside of the principal's office, and for what benefit or purpose to anyone? It was certainly not as if Asuka was completely in the right either; after all, if she was innocent, then why was Lili's nose still bleeding? Not broken, miraculously, but pain still numbed it completely.

"Fighting." She answered the boy who sat beside her. He raised an eyebrow.

"And this is your first day?" He asked. She snorted irritably.

"Barely my first hour, and it is none of your concern." He raised his hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Just being friendly, is all." He moaned slightly. "You're new here, right?"

"Did you hear me?" Lili's gaze shot to him and pierced him angrily. He grimaced nervously.

"Sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to annoy you."

"You always mean to annoy people." Came another, lower voice. Both Lili and the young boy turned in the direction of the smoker. Lili immediately began to analyse him. The noun 'boy' certainly didn't seem to fit him, or 'man', or even 'teenager'. He seemed to be an amalgam of all of them. He stood like a teenager, and his clothes; a sleeveless vest, jeans and chaps and large leather boots, but something in his chestnut eyes seemed to suggest that he had seen far more than anyone his young age had need or right to. He scratched his red hair, the hand blowing some cigarette smoke through the air by accident.

"This is why I should stop letting school-kids join my gang. I've got enough on my plate with preparing with Baek; the last thing I need is to have to run over here and represent you as a guardian every other fucking day." He scowled. The younger boy blushed.

"… sorry, Blood Talon." He murmured. Lili scowled; true, he was annoying her, but even she felt that was extreme. The red-head spotted the scowl.

"What's your problem?" He asked. Lili huffed irritably.

"I don't remember telling you that I had a problem." The red-head, to her surprise, smirked slightly.

"A smart-ass, eh?" He asked. "I'll bet my bike that mouth's what got you that bloodied nose."

"And what if it was?"

"... are you asking for a fight?"

Lili's eyes suddenly widened, then thinned as a smirk crept along her face. The Blood Talon, despite not living here or even coming from the same country, was adored in this area for his fighting prowess. The school kids had seen him fight before; anybody dumb enough to hassle him, threaten him, or touch his bike, all of them got a boot-print in their face. A challenge was considered the first sign of madness. So he certainly didn't expect this young blonde, clearly from even further away than him, some six or seven years younger than him, in such a neat frilly uniform and with such a smug sophistication, to out of nowhere smirk and sneer.

"May I ask where?" She said. The Blood Talon blinked, a blank expression on his face, then he burst out into fits of laughter. Lili didn't react. She knew that she could wipe that smile clean off his face.

"You aren't for real." He sighed, then his eyes hardened. "I'll be waiting outside those gates at nine." He nodded to the window. Lili saw the main entrance. "I'll neither be disappointed or surprised if you don't show." Lili opened her mouth to reply.

"No."

All three of them simultaneously turned to the principal; a fat, balding man in a tweed jacket, as comical and stereotypical a headmaster as you may ever find. Lili smiled sweetly.

"I'm guessing that you'll be calling for me." She said. The principal glared at her.

"I see that fights are going to be a big problem with you. Inside my office, now." He said. "And you, Hwoarang;" This he directed to the red-head. "- fight with any of my students and you'll find yourself in a prison cell before you can even raise your fists!" The red-head's snort was the last Lili heard of him as the door to the office closed behind her.

The office was not unlike any other office; a poky room with a central desk, a clear view of the playground so that trouble can be spotted instantly, the whirr of air-conditioning, but Lili was astounded by the mess. It was if the room was a scrapheap exclusive to office equipment; thousands of rubber bands, pencils, pencil sharpeners, enough paper to make a whole tree, anything you could think of was on the floor to this office, which she carefully navigated until she got to the closest chair. She sat down, and the principal followed suit. He sighed.

"Is that the kind of behaviour that goes on in the schools in Monaco?" He asked. "Because I'd be surprised if it was." Lili rolled her eyes.

"Tensou-san…"

"_Sensei _Tensou, as far as you are concerned." He bitterly spat.

"- quite. There's a lot of variables you haven't considered, first and foremost that the fight that happened this morning wasn't in school or within school hours. You can't punish me for that, and you know this, so why am I here?" Tensou scowled for a second. His brain dug for an answer. He didn't want to not have the last word in this matter. He leant forward on his desk, sighing heavily.

"I don't think you've considered all the variables either, Rochefort-san." He said. "I know why you're here. In relation to the tournament and your father, I mean. However, I am sticking my neck out for you." His nostrils flared slightly, in small frustration. "I shouldn't be having this conversation at all. You shouldn't be here. I could be destroyed for taking you on. Your butler paid me well, but do you know how many people I have had to lie to get you here? And this is how you repay me?"

"Sensei, I understand, but…"

"No, no you don't." He interrupted her immediately. "If you did, you wouldn't be arranging fights." He shrugged his shoulders irritably. "I won't say that I care what you do outside of school, but I want to be sure that you're not kicking off within these walls. So here's the deal;" He pointed an accusing finger. "I'll be watching you. All day. Every day. And if you raise a fist, if you give me trouble, if you so much as sneeze in anyone's direction, I'm telling your father _exactly _why you're here." Lili gasped slightly.

"You can't!" She barked. "This business is far too important for you to simply throw away! I'm after Jin Kazama! He's ruining lives, killing people, starting wars; I _need _to stop him, and you're not…"

"I can see that's a priority with you, and I'm sure picking fights with a schoolgirl in Osaka is a great comfort to those poor souls." Tensou's sarcastic snipe made Lili's blood boil. It was as if he didn't know about the outside world, and the impact Jin had upon it. She thought about hitting him square in that fat face of his, but refrained; it would probably be a delight for him to have an excuse to send her away. Instead, she seethed slightly. He looked to the clock on the wall. "I've kept you too long already." He waved a hand. "Leave. Ask Kenichi and Hwoarang to come in as you leave."

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It didn't really matter what she was whistling. It sounded pleasant, a soothing blues tune she was sure she had heard at one stage or another, so that was all that mattered.

Asuka lips pursed as she read the paperback, lying across the bench lazily. She didn't have a great deal else to do before class started, and it wasn't as if she'd be allowed to relax then, so on she read. She shifted her weight to the left as a slight ache overcame her. Her back was still sore from the fight earlier. Her philosophy was that she never _ever_ threw the first punch, but she was desperate for an excuse to give that blonde a sore with the same pain as hers tenfold.

"… I mean, what a complete dork…"

Asuka quickly glanced up from her book. She recognised Kenichi as a kid from the year below her; a mischievous little blighter she had thrice tangled with; twice beating up bullies for him, and once beating him up for the same reason. However, it was the red-head her eyes were immediately drawn to. For the second time that day, she recognised a stranger; the last one had attacked her, so she immediately became suspicious. Especially seeing as she was sure he was from the same place; the tournament. She kept a wary eye on him as he pondered.

"That blonde, though…" He murmured to Kenichi. The boy laughed.

"Oh yeah!" He suddenly shifted tones, desperate to make sure his opinion coincided with the red-head's. "Out of her mind, right? Challenging you? Completely insane."

"… I'm sure I recognise her…"

"So do I." Came Kenichi's voice, before he actually worked out what he had said or even what he was agreeing to. The red-head could've announced that he liked to punch himself and he might've started to knock his own teeth out with glee.

"Lil, I think." Asuka didn't even realise she had said it out loud, but she soon had the two turning towards her. She looked up. _You just can't shut up when you need to, can you, Asuka?_

"… do I know you?" Came the red-head's voice. Asuka shrugged her shoulders. She decided not to say that she knew him; partially because she couldn't remember his name and it'd be awkward, but mostly because he could be another Lili.

"Might do." She said, momentarily glancing at Kenichi, hoping that he'd simply play dumb, or not remember her face.

"… you're Asuka Kazama." He blurted out.

_Crap._

The red-head's eyes lit slightly, and Asuka sighed.

"Yeah… I _do_ know you all right." He smirked. Asuka looked back at him.

"Look, if you're after a fight, forget it; I want to get to the end of this chapter before class starts." She raised an eyebrow. "… Hwoa-something, isn't it?" The red-head laughed cockily.

"The one and only Hwoarang." That smirk immediately riled Asuka. It was a smirk that was just begging for a broken tooth. "That Lil a friend of yours?"

"No." The answer was so fast it was only after she said it she realised that she said it at all. Hwoarang smiled.

"Fine, fine." He said. "You give her that nosebleed."

"If you don't let me carry on reading my book, you'll get one just like it." More laughter.

"Cocky, are we?" He asked. He nudged Kenichi. "All the ladies seem to be queuing up for a fight today, eh Kenichi?" Asuka rolled her eyes, putting her book down.

"Alright, fuck finishing that chapter!" She stamped the ground, raising two fists. "Bring it!" Hwoarang smirked.

"Woah woah woah…" He raised his hands. "I've got other places to be."

"So do I, so let's make this quick!" Asuka barked. Hwoarang shook his head.

"No no no no no… the place to be is outside those front gates." He smiled. "Tonight. Already got one opponent, so let's make this really special." Asuka gritted her teeth, but lowered her fists.

"After annoying me so much, it better be!" She looked to the school clock. Class time. She glared back at the red-head, then the two simultaneously turned around and walked their own ways.

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**Chapter 2 - Challenges**


	3. Pep Talk

**Chapter 3 – Pep Talk**

**Disclaimer - The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.**

**Author's Note - A very short one, started and finished in the space of an hour. GO ME!**

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"Another fight? Seriously?"

"Yeah, tonight. Outside the school front gates."

Ken just crushed his hand on his sweaty forehead. The heat generated by the fryers escalated into the air, swirling and spinning in the small shop, the stench of fried food rushing everywhere it could; up Asuka's nose, into the throats of the other customers, out of the window into the blue sky that persisted throughout the Osaka morning and showed little sign of faltering in the noon. The sweat ran like rivers on Ken's forehead, and he wiped it away as he sighed, looking back to the black disc before him.

"At least you're telling me this time." He mumbled.

"But Dad, the guy was a cocky prick! He _needs_ to have his ego punctured, it's for his own good!" Asuka pleaded. Ken rolled his eyes, his wrist lazily spinning, pushing spoon through white noodles with a sizzling crack.

"Your mum'll kill me." He said.

"You could say that I didn't tell you, Dad."

"Then she'll kill me for not keeping an eye on you. You know how she…" He paused, looking over to behind Asuka. He pointed to one of her friends, silently smiling politely. "You're the Takoyaki, right?" He asked. A nod came from her, and he looked around his bench.

"Third shelf down, on the right." Asuka sighed. Ken seethed.

"I know, I know." He said, reaching for the octopus meat to throw into the pan. "As I was saying, you know how your mother is about you picking fights."

"Hey, he challenged me. You've always said taking up a challenge is fair game."

"Maybe, but I wasn't exactly thinking of street fights outside of your school when I said it." Kenichi sighed, looking up to the ceiling. "Your aunt would've loved to sit you down and lecture you about your love of fighting." Another crack. Ken's eyes shot down to the pan. "That was quick." He scooped up the contents of the pan, pouring it into a small polystyrene bowl. He handed Asuka the bowl, which she passed back.

"I need the practise anyway." She said to Ken. "It's with one of the fighters from the tournament, I think, and another person. It'll be the best practise for the next one I'll have." Ken suddenly chuckled. Asuka became unnerved. Her father wasn't one to chuckle until he knew that he had the upper hand. In this and many similar cases, that he was going to pull a trump card that would flatten her arguments.

"Now, that isn't entirely true, now is it?" He looked to Asuka, ignoring his food. "A little bird told me about the fight you had this morning." Asuka scratched her neck nonchalantly, though something told her this was going to be different.

"You mean that Lil chick?" She asked. "Again, she attacked me. It was self-defence."

"And you very nearly lost." Ken reminded her. Asuka's bones froze, despite the heat of the restaurant.

"What?" She asked. "You can't be serious! She pinned me, but I broke out easily enough…"

"Only because she was distracted." He became very stern. "I will bet you anything that this 'Lili' is going to be there, and I can tell you right now, you won't be as lucky." His eyes pierced Asuka's, and Asuka, for all her somewhat cheeky tone before, stayed silent. As far as she was concerned, whether or not he was in a fast-food-restaurant uniform, whether or not he could barely find his way around his place of work and needed his daughter to organise for him, whether or not his leg was still in a cast from Feng Wei's attack, when those auburn eyes she inherited went stone cold, when the whites of his eyes seemed to turn grey, when he spoke of fighting, his words became drops from a well of pure wisdom. He became an old and mighty Norse war god; cold, calculating, merciless. A thunder crackled in his eyes, and the now greyed hair seemed once again to blacken. She listened to everything with awe. He was her god, her mentor, her guiding words that rolled through the lands for eons.

"I was told of everything that had happened. That you didn't know her, yet for her you encapsulated and eclipsed every challenge she's ever faced. Watch yourself. Do not throw the first punch. Do not give her a reason to attack you. The man who challenged you may be your main opponent, but she is your largest concern." He stood up fully, and Asuka suddenly felt shorter, as if she was an infant addressed by a giant. "I'll let you go to this fight, on one condition." Asuka raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"I come." He said. "I won't come near. I won't interfere in the fighting. You won't see me. I'll simply watch, observe, and know exactly what you need for the tournament. You are on your own." Asuka became quite anxious all of a sudden. He had never, _ever_ made this demand. He hadn't seen her fight on the streets in years, and that was a coincidence. With this anxiety came a reminder of the fire that was in Lili's eyes when they fought. The hatred. The raw anger. _That _was going to be her challenge. Plus, her father was watching. It wasn't supervision. This was a challenge, the father saying to the daughter 'Prove yourself. Show me what you have. Give me a reason to be proud of you' and she decided to take it. Her fists clenched. She wouldn't lose. She couldn't lose. She _mustn't_ lose. She nodded.

"Alright." She said. _It's just another fight. _Her brain told her tingling nerves and her hammering heart. _No different to anything else. _However, they wouldn't listen. Ken looked over his shoulder.

"Ah!" He suddenly flipped back to the half-enthusiastic, barely organised Kenichi Kazama, and Asuka started to breathe again. "Your Gyozas are done." He smiled, handing Asuka and her other friend two boxes. "Now, get back to school before lunch break's over. You can just make it if you eat while you walk."


	4. Chemistry

**Chapter 4 - Chemistry**

**Disclaimer - This chapter features the debut of Captain Bland! Reel at his monotonous adventures! Quail at the sight of his mediocre foes! Gasp as Captain Bland preforms underwhelming feats! Do not miss this average adventure!**

**Author's Note - So the powers that be are gathering to stop me from updating, using the ancient art of collapsing in on themselves every so often. Boo to the system.**

* * *

Lili had made good on her deal, much to her chagrin and disadvantage it was.

She rarely had tutoring such as this; an average school. She was more accustomed to a private tutor and the ability to simply 'skip' subjects they disliked, as many younger aristocrats are, so the battle to not give Tensou the satisfaction of ridding her from his world was difficult. Not that she did not enjoy education, or at least in very specific fields. A number of her intrigues are quite typical of her social standing; classical literature, history and the stories of the many frescos of her native corner of the Mediterranean. However, it was her greatest love that was the most atypical; chemistry. Maybe unsurprising, considering her father's industry, but despite her somewhat childish behaviour and considered below-average intelligence, her and chemistry seemed to understand each other, know each other, reflect each other; the calm, ordered way that the myriad elements and compounds are described and documented hiding the burgeoning chaos and violence they were truly capable of. Even her father was impressed how well she understood it all, especially given her appalling mathematics, a subject that usually goes hand in hand with chemistry.

However, though some of these subjects were avoided, she behaved. She kept her head down and gave Tensou no reason to send her home. He wasn't going to win, she thought. She made nice with fellow students, who were somewhat surprised that the one who hadn't been in the school for over a minute and had already been to see the headmaster was such a blue-blood. She smiled politely, kept the conversations warm and friendly, studied to the greatest of her abilities regardless of the subject.

Her thoughts, though, were blood red.

She had taken several long hard looks at where she'd be fighting tonight. She recalled the distance from the gate to the road, the features of the same street, their relative distances; anything she could use to fight her challenge. Should she fight aggressively or defensively? What would the red-head do? Would he be active or reactive? This dominated her thoughts, kept her head spinning, made sure she didn't fly a fist at anyone ready to annoy her; her little reward for going onto Tensou's terms.

Even in the limousine back to the abode she, Sebastian and a few others stayed at, her thoughts were still on the fight for tonight. Possible tactics. Necessary preparations. How to make sure Sebastian or Tensou didn't know.

"Hmm?" She looked up from her thoughts.

"I asked how your day was, my lady." Sebastian repeated calmly. "How the school was. If you made any friends."

_You could say I made a friend. _She immediately thought. "It was a good day." She said as opposed to her thoughts. "The school's not what I'm used to, but I'm sure I'll grow accustomed to it. You've made a good choice." Sebastian nodded, smiling slightly.

"I'm glad it's to your liking." He said, looking back to the road. "It's a nice district."

"It is." Lili said. "I might go for a walk tonight. Explore a little." Sebastian's ear pricked. His smile waned.

"… a walk?" He asked. Lili chuckled.

"What, you think I want to go everywhere in a limo?" She asked, though she knew that wasn't his immediate concern. She saw him frown in the mirror.

"Of course. Shall I assume it is a private affair?" He asked suspiciously.

"If no one will come with me." She asked, knowing full well she won't ask any of her staff to come in the first place. Sebastian nodded.

"Quite." He said, the hairs on his arms standing up. That fight today was not a spontaneous affair; he knew it in his bones. Maybe not planned, but he knew that they must have clashed previously. He sighed. "Just tell me when you leave, and when you'll be back."

"I will." Lili said. Her eyes trailed back to the scenes whizzing by, and her thoughts snapped back to the school gates.

* * *

"What time is it, Seong-Hada?"

"Hamburger time."

"Why is it whenever I ask you what time it is, you tell me that it's time to eat hamburgers?"

"Because it's _always _time to eat hamburgers."

Hwoarang was about to answer back, but then a loud boom came from his stomach.

"Ha!"

"Can't eat now." He explained. "I've got a fight to have." The darkness of the Osakan street was a complete opposite of white of day. The pavements were now non-entities, simply pockets of complete obsidian. The sky was filled with stars that were white and yellow and blue and red and every colour a star can possibly be, though the moon's dark side was showing, giving even less light to the street than usual. The street lamps flickered slowly, one going orange from a lack of power, changing all colour to orange. Hwoarang looked around the scene, with some of his gang and a few other watchers eagerly waiting for a fight, then back to his blue haired companion. "In all seriousness, time."

"Around about half nine, give or take." He answered. Hwoarang huffed.

"Looks like no one's turning up." He said irritably. "Can't say I'm surprised about the blonde not showing up. All talk, no walk, I suppose, but…"

"I'll have you chewing those words."

Everyone turned around slowly to approaching footsteps. White boot hit black ground. White boot hit orange ground, turning orange itself from the lamppost's weak light as Lili came ever closer, the crowd dispersing at her presence and surrounded both her and Hwoarang. She looked around the arena with a slow gaze. Everything as she had remembered it, as she had examined it. She looked back to Hwoarang, and smiled.

"A large audience you've brought." She remarked. Hwoarang's jaw dropped, then curled into a smirk.

"Wait, you're fighting in a skirt?" He asked, chuckling slightly. "God, you can't be for real!"

"I don't see the problem." Lili replied. "Whether it is in a stiletto or a boot, a kick to your face will still hurt."

"I mentioned your skirt, not your shoes." Hwoarang looked away, looking for somebody. "There's still somebody missing, though." Lili's eyes widened slightly, then thinned. The hairs on her arms knew. Standing up, they somehow knew.

"I… see…" She scowled slightly, pushing her knuckles together. "- I hope she comes." Her head turned away, her brow furrowed, her eyes hardening.

Asuka and Kenichi watched from afar. The darkness of the streets kept them safe from myriad gazes from the watchers, but allowed them to watch Lili's face curl into a scowl.

"She looks strong." Came the father's hushed mumble. "And the redhead's not to be underestimated either." Asuka smiled slightly, but inwardly her heart was curling up into a ball, panicking at the prospect that she might end up disappointing her father. He was watching her! What if she lost? Would he be upset? Would he let her fight again? She desperately told her brain to stop coming up with evermore ridiculous scenarios; what if she was disowned? What if she _did_ win and he didn't see and wouldn't believe her? What if he exploded out of sheer shame? She shouted in her head, telling herself that none of this could possibly happen; her father loved her no matter how good a fighter she was, nobody's ever exploded out of shame before, he wouldn't turn into jam, but still her brain ran panicking, desperate for answers it claimed it didn't know, only making Asuka feel worse.

"Should be fun, then." She smirked, cracking her knuckles confidently. "A blue-blooded psychopath and a cocksure biker. No problem." She lied, but before she could walk away, her father put a hand on her shoulder.

"Just pretend I'm not here." He explained, comforting her. "You were going to fight them anyway. I'm just watching, nothing more. Consider it training." Asuka chuckled.

"Alright." She answered, before walking into the light, a deadly though fake smile on her face. Somebody pointed her out, and the crowd parted as she approached the two. Lili looked to her.

"I should've known." She whispered to herself. Asuka's eyes darted to her.

"Got something to say to me?" She asked. Lili's eyes thinned, but she remained silent. Asuka smirked, then her smile faded. "You're wearing a skirt?"

"I don't see the…" Lili stopped, remembering that Hwoarang didn't understand her metaphor, and she doubted Asuka would either. "- yes. Yes I am. Would you like to point out the moon to anyone?" Asuka rolled her eyes as Hwoarang laughed.

"You just…" He shook his head, then looked to the matt of blue hair stuck in the middle of the crowd. "Seong-Hada, do the honours and start the…" He stumbled on his own words mid-sentence. "- start the… where did you get that hamburger?"

"Told you, hamburger time." Seong-Hada smirked, spraying meat out of his muffled mouth. He took another bite, and raised his hand, before dropping it suddenly.


End file.
